There was a little bit of St. Paddy’s Day luck left over for the Juneau Trail and Road Runners with perfect weather on Saturday for their annual Flanagan’s Run.
Race director Randy Peterson still cautioned racers from the parking lot of Savikko Park that while the weather may be perfect, the ground conditions are still icy.
“There’s a lot of black ice on the road today,” Peterson said. “It’s going to be a little icy and then there’s still a lot of snow on the Douglas Highway, so it’s going to be a little bit challenging but still, can’t ask for better weather since it’s not raining.”
Racers had their choice of either the 1-mile or 5-mile course.The race started at Savikko Park and from there followed down 2nd Street, then up Capitol View Court to Douglas Highway. From there racers continued down Douglas Highway to the turn around point, near Breeze In only to then return to the starting point following the same path in reverse.
Longtime Juneauite Eric Antrim said he was in attendance to show support for both running and the community. Antrim would later be first to finish the 5-mile portion of the race at 34 minutes and seven seconds.
Eric Antrim (1488) leads the pack on Saturday for JTRR’s annual Flanagan’s Run at Savikko Park. Antrim would later finish the 5-mile option of the race first with a finish time of 34:07. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
“Running is a big part of my identity and I want to support the local club,” Antrim said. “I’ve done this race but it’s been a few years, so I’m trying to get onto the right foot this spring and go to more races.”
While it was a return for Antrim, it was Hannah Bailey’s first time. Bailey said she’s been in Juneau for five years and likes to attend as many of the JTRR’s races as possible.
“I haven’t done this one before and I’m trying to make it a goal to do more of these races this year,” Bailey said. “It’s fun because you have a lot of local people coming to have a good time and it’s usually a pretty relaxed race and everyone’s really supportive.”
Next up for JTRR is their Glacier 10K on Saturday, March 25 at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center parking lot at 10 a.m. for the one-mile race, 10:30 a.m. for the 10K race. Registration can be found at raceentry.com/races/2023-glacier-10k-and-1-mile/2023/register and proceeds go to the Thunder Mountain High School track team.
“It’s one of our big fundraisers and one of our best runs,” Peterson said. “Hopefully we’ll have the same weather next weekend as we do today.”
Racer’s tickets stabled to the board displays each person’s finish time in order on Saturday at Savikko Park for this year’s Flanagan’s Run, hosted by the Juneau Trail and Road Runners. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
The top three results for the Flanagan’s Run 1one-mile race were Finn Peterson at eight minutes and five seconds, April Rezendes at eight minutes and six seconds and Jeff Gnass at eight minutes and 34 seconds. The top two results behind Antrim in the 5five-mile race were Jin Ustasiewski at 34 minutes and 29 seconds and Eliza Dorn at 34 minutes and 59 seconds.
• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.
